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A tale of two Donal O'Gradys: key men in opposite hurling camps

The Limerick selector and Cork coach worked together in 2011.

DONAL O’GRADY ADMITS his ears pricked with interest when he heard the news his namesake and former manager had rejoined the Cork set-up as part of Kieran Kingston’s backroom team.

pjimage (6) Both men are important part of the Limerick and Cork backroom teams respectively. Inpho / Sportsfile Inpho / Sportsfile / Sportsfile

Widely acknowledged to be one of the foremost thinkers in the game, O’Grady helped  install a new shorter running style after taking charge of the Cork team in 2003. 

He introduced youth, handing debuts Tom Kenny, Ronan Curran and Setanta Ó hAilpín, while John Gardiner also nailed down a start spot on the team. 

Cork’s first Munster title in three years arrived during his first year, before they fell to Kilkenny by three points in the All-Ireland final. The Rebels shook off a one-point Munster final loss to Waterford in 2004 to come through the backdoor and exact revenge over the Cats in that September’s decider. 

In 2011, O’Grady took charge of Limerick for a season and briefly returned as joint-manager alongside TJ Ryan in 2014.

His return to the Cork camp ahead of this season has been seen as a key ingredient in their return to a first All-Ireland final since 2013.

The elder O’Grady might be pigeonholed as a disciplinarian in some quarters, but that does injustice to his attention to detail and tendency towards smarter hurling.

“We had a great experience with him and, in fairness to him, he would have set a new standard of what it takes to be tactically and as a person, an inter-county hurler at the top level, and he instilled that fairly quickly into us in 2011.

“He was a great man, real into his video analysis and that and you can actually see a lot of that in what Cork are doing one, their puckouts and so forth and the way they set up. I do think he has a big influence in that, yes.”

Having worked under him during that period, Limerick selector O’Grady knew what Cork were getting by bringing such experience back into the fold. 

“It’s amazing, we’re nearly 10 years now, 2011 to 2021. It’s amazing how the game has evolved since but then the fundamentals are the same: primary possession, that real will to win that contested ball on the ground and then you can have your platform to move forward. 

“And he was a firm believer of that in us. It was amazing the little tweaks he made back then with us, even the running game and he instilled that in us in 2011 and even persistence in training, we did see the fruition of that to a certain extent.

“And obviously if he’d had another couple of years with us we might have seen a bit more but that’s the way it was.”

donal-ogrady-and-patrick-collins Cork’s Donal O’Grady speaks to Patrick Collins prior to a league game. Ken Sutton / INPHO Ken Sutton / INPHO / INPHO

A senior debutant in 2004, he nailed down a regular spot on the starting team the following season. O’Grady was part of the Limerick side that went down to Kilkenny in the 2007 All-Ireland final, before a decline set-in for a few seasons. He played no part in the 2010 championship after an infamous strike, regarded by many as a low point in Limerick hurling. 

O’Grady’s playing days with the Treaty ended in 2016. He was Munster winning captain in 2013, but enjoyed nothing like the success the current squad have become accustomed to. 

They’re even playing games in Croke Park with regularity.

“It used to be a big thing going up there. The quarter-finals were in Thurles, if we were lucky enough to be in one, and a semi in Croke Park.

“But I think the lads are in a great routine now. Up on the train that morning, home on the train that evening. There is a routine and we have been blessed that we have been there on a nice number of occasions over the last three or four years.

“Croke Park is where every player wants to be so I can’t wait for the occasion.”

If they prevail on Sunday, Limerick would become the first side to lift the All-Ireland without beating any Leinster opposition. They’re chasing the county’s first back-to-back titles against a side they’ve beaten twice already this year.

The Rebels, looking to end a 16-year famine, won’t be short on motivation.

Back in 2018, Cork looked to be on the way to an All-Ireland final appearance when a Shane Dowling-inspired Limerick pulled the game out of the fire in normal-time and prevailed by 3-32 to 2-31 after extra-time. 

Limerick lifted the Liam McCarthy Cup three weeks later to announce themselves as hurling’s new overlords.

“In 2018, it was us that came back in near the end and then kicked on in extra-time,” recalls O’Grady, who fulfilled the role of supporter three years ago.

shane-dowling-celebrates-a-goal Shane Dowling celebrates after scoring a crucial goal against Cork in the 2018 All-Ireland semi-final. Oisin Keniry / INPHO Oisin Keniry / INPHO / INPHO

“But look, in this year alone we have played them in the league here (at the LIT Gaelic Grounds), we played them in the championship obviously, and they got one over us there the year before. Very little between us.

“The one thing about Cork is they are a hurling team. Very skilful, there are a lot of similarities with Limerick.

“But at the same time, there are a lot of differences in how we set up. We have seen enough of each other through this year. A lot of games take their own lease of life and both teams stick to their plans so it will be very interesting to see how it pans out.”

Limerick’s semi-final test against Waterford will stand to them when they take to the field on Sunday, O’Grady believes.

“Waterford had a nice bit of momentum built. Early on, they hit us with everything they possibly could. But one of the great characteristics of Limerick is that we didn’t fall down. We weathered the storm and kicked on and overall we were delighted to get over the line.

“Yes, maybe seven or eight points was a nice way to finish it out but as we have seen over the year, 16 points was whittled down to three with Galway and Waterford and, of course, ourselves and Tipp.

“They’re not massive leads in hurling anymore and you have to be on your guard all the time. I think we did it well and saw out the game well.”

- Originally published at 12:31pm

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